Stub Mandrel

Yep, seems to be these transistors, if I swap them (1) the direction of the offset reverses and (2) the amp gets noisier. Swap them back and the noise goes and the offset reverses.

I've found some help on another forum. Looked like a mismatch in the differential pair. I pulled the transistors this morning and their gains are 80 and 64. Enough to give hifi buffs the heebeejeebies, not sure if its enough to give the symptoms I'm seeing but I'm going to see if I can find a better matched pair rated 100v.

Talking to myself... but... Working on the principle that the collector and base voltages of the differential pairs should all be pretty much equal, the collector of TR204 is at -5.1V, 206 is at about -21V. [edit] This is supposed to be a 'current mirror'. I'm sure the collectors of TR203 and TR204 shouldn't be this far out of balance one is at -21.5V the other is at +5.0V. In an ideal world the collector of TR204 should be a couple of volts negative and I would expect TR203 to be somewhere near this with the amp quiescent. BUT the voltages across R208 and R211 are almost identical suggesting the current mirror is working.. Next looks the bases of TR201 and TR202 in the differential amplifier bit both at 0.4V. Reasonable enough, this suggests a base current of about 7 uA. Suspicion currently on match of R204 and R205 and TR203. But can anyone offer some advice?

Old fashioned 1980's combo 150W. Symptoms - intermittent noise, occasional cutting out. Noticed Transformer running VERY hot. The noticed speakers are all slightly forward of their normal rest position when amp switched on. Otherwise, sounds normal with apparently good headroom but hard to test in living room... Conclusion: problem with the power amp bias. Possible dodgy transistor in bias circuit? I do have a schematic + test gear. First check, 8V DC offset across speakers. Played with pot VR410, may have been part of the problem dirty as it instantly improved, now between 4V and 4.3V but still making speakers jump forward and noisy (NB this shoudl be adjusted to minimise crossover distortion). Discovered C409 was partially desoldered and 10uF (47uF specified). Tried both a 10uF and a 47uF and noise greatly reduced but still bias issue. Thing is, VR410 looks to me to be for adjusting the quiescent current to eliminate crossover distortion rather than the bias... Very simple amp, but I'm struggling to see what might be the problem. Have been over resoldering to make sure no dry joints. This is issue 4 of the MPB2 board, my amp is issue 2 and only two mosfets fitted + fan (but places for the other 2)

What makes Power Windows unique among Rush albums?

If those are genuine Di Marzios worth buying for the hardware and throwing the exquisite luthierie away... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Personalized-Electric-Guitar-Small-Mini-Version-Of-Patented-Products/283146791957

I suppose if you have an inexperienced drummer it lets you balance out the levels 😉

Number of strings isn't a big thing, I'd like one of these too: Bit hard to hide it behind the sofa...

I do like that, Myles Kennedy is a vocalists at the peak of his abilities. Classic bit of Ultimate Guitar tab: Tuning: 5-string down 1/2 step (Bb Eb Ab Db Gb) This can be played on a B-tuned 5-string bass with a few adjustments. I tabbed it as tuned down to match the guitar parts. Then the whole tab doesn't go lower than B...

Feel free to add more! This was done in jest, but some clever bugger could analyse loads of tabs and see if there are certain note that are more popular in some styles. My acoustic guitar I've been playing continuously since the mid-80s has a very distinct pattern, but I'm not sure what it means.

Can you identify the musical styles the owner of an instrument is into from their fretboard wear patterns? Of course you can, here's the simple and infallible Basschat Guide:

I get fed up when people think charity employees should be paid a pittance because their wages come out of donations - many charity employees feel this way too! Personally I think they should be paid extra for doing jobs that benefit society.

I used Troy's cover video, I find slowing him down 50% works better than most tabs.

Are you winding us up 🙂 Ah 49:30...

He was booked to 'close the festival' which was going to be the end of Sunday night, but things over-ran and over-ran. They gave him the choice of sticking to his slot, but he said he would stick with the closing spot.

Let me correct that for you... I have lost count of the tabs that play a repeated note then move up or down five frets and across a string to continue on the same note. I suspect some of these are 'frankenstien' tabs assembled from several others or produced by beginners who have worked out each 'section' separately and don't actually realise they are playing the same note, but I'm sure some are just bad.

I can pretty much play the single version spot on, except for the odd lapse of concentration - the irony is that because it IS such a simple repeating structure if you lose your place you it can take longer than ideal to pick it up again. But yes, the place to get is where I can improvise the whole song around the basic structure. It will all get simpler when the drummer has it nailed so I can take a cue from his fills.

It's OK on a big stage, don't you think the bed is a bit big for pub gigs?

When I started my mate leant me a precision on the condition I learnt to play it one finger per fret. Now I play a mixture, one finger per fret is easier to play faster, and I hate tab that has you flying up and down the neck for no good reason. BUT there are plenty of songs or parts of songs that I play with just the three biggest fingers. I never use my ring and little fingers together (like an upright player) because (IMHO) a bass that needs that much pressure just needs setting up properly! But plenty of people do use this technique. The answer is very much down to what feels comfortable for you, but if you can deploy different techniques as it suits thw song, you will be at an advantage.

And you're still 1 funeral short of a full anecdote...

Up date on this, none of the various supports I tried really cut the mustard. I tried about five different types of bandage, support, neoprene... best was a big green support tube, I tried dying it black but it came out green. Then noticed my brother and his bassist both use ordinary sweatbands. Got a couple of slazenger ones and they are great. Then the killer punchline... noticed this in a photo of me playing in about 1987...

. Jimi Hendrix – $18,000 That's probably $2 for everyone that watched him, most of the crowd had gone home by the time he closed the festival. Most interesting is to see the pecking order. 1 Arlo has parity with a CSNY!

I can't remember exact figures from , but I recall between £20 and up to £40 on a good night in the early 90s, so we were probably getting £100-£200 as a five piece in the Midlands, originals, pubs and small local clubs. I think my first band (covers) used to ask £60-£80, in the late 80s in South Wales. Looks like places were a bit more generous when they didn't have the internet and wide screen TV to compete with.

Don't worry, it's the biter bit. I'm responsible for more thread drift than a tornado in a cotton mill.